Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Six World Vision workers killed in Pakistan

Militants attacked World Vision offices in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday. The attack killed six Pakistanis who work for the international aid organization.

The Taliban, Al-Qaida and other extremest groups have strongholds in northwest Pakistan. Continued attacks on humanitarians working there have made it hard to accomplish any work to improve Pakistanis lives.

The attack targeted World Vision, a large Christian humanitarian group helping survivors of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Mansehra district, which killed about 80,000 people.

The dead in Wednesday's attack, all Pakistanis, included two women, said police official Mohammad Sabir.

Seven World Vision employees were hospitalized and one was missing, according to information provided Tuesday night by spokeswoman Rachel Wolff.

"World Vision today is mourning the brutal and senseless deaths of five members of our staff in the Mansehra District of Pakistan after an unprovoked attack by gunmen," the group's news release said.

The organization was trying to confirm that gunmen had set off bombs and grenades before opening fire on the World Vision office, the release said.

The group said it received no threatening letters before the attack. The organization has suspended its operations in Pakistan indefinitely, the news release said.

"Those who kill humanitarian workers must be reminded that they are not only killing their own country's residents, but also people seeking to improve the lives of victims of poverty and injustice," the release said.